Abel Tasman

After the great ferry crossing, we stayed in Riwaka at a small organic farm. We woke to rain, so Natalie did some homework, and then we headed to Abel Tasman National Park to hike the Coast Track. As the weather cleared up, the bay was dotted with islands, water taxis, and kayaks. We made it about 15 minutes before we stopped for lunch (Natalie is perpetually hungry). Then it was on to Appletree Bay.  We left the farm laden with jams: cherry, fig & port, apricot & almond, and kiwi.

Crossing Cook Straight

We successfully made it across Cook Straight yesterday car and all. I was heavily medicated, so all was well. Natalie even got to watch Road Chip, the new Alvin and the Chipmunks Movie in the boat's theater.

On the South Island we stopped at the Mussel Pot in Havelock, the Mussel Capitol of the World.

Close Encounters of the Fuzzy Kind

We spent a magical afternoon at the Wellington Zoo. We were able to see the elusive kiwi bird. This native New Zealand bird likes to hide in the dark and dig in the dirt with it's long beak. At the zoo it's habitat is bathed in red light. Kiwis cannot see the color red, so those lights allow us to see the kiwis, while they still feel concealed. It was kind of like a hunt as we bumped around in the dim red light searching for them, catching a glimpse in the back corner. This zoo has zoo talks and feedings for many of the animals, so we were able to get a better look when the Kiwi was coaxed out of the background with food.

Next stop was another native New Zealand bird, the Little Blue Penguin. This is the smallest penguin in the world standing at about 30 cm high. They are utterly adorable. They are nocturnal and liked to hide from the onlookers, but were once again brought into the light with food. They swam, ate, and waddled around in pairs. These little guys actually nest underneath the house where we are staying in the fall. But we are told they are loud and smell like fish.
Click on video to play.

Next talk was with the lions. OK, we said, why not? We were pleasantly surprised that the lion talk was nothing short of amazing. The keeper opened a door to reveal a steel grate. The female lion came over and laid down. At this point, Jeff and Natalie were about 3 feet from the lion. The zookeeper commenced her talk and fed the lion through the bars. We jumped a mile with each noise the huge and stunningly fierce lion made. The keeper never even flinched. When shown the empty bucket indicating the feeding was over, the unhappy lion gave a loud uromphh and walked off. A similar feeding was performed for the sun bear. While I understand that these feedings are likely politically incorrect in America, it was fascinating to get so close to these amazing creatures.
Click on video to play.

On the way out we stopped by a trampoline where a sign read "Hop Like a Kangaroo". So, of course, Natalie did. "Where are the kangaroos anyway?", Jeff asked. Turns out 2 kangaroos were lounging behind the trampoline free to roam the zoo as they please along with several large Emus. What? One kangaroo took off and hopped down the path we had just come up, while we stood there our mouths agape.
Click on video to play.

Junior Kayak

Natalie has not done much kayaking, so we were thrilled that there was a junior kayak leaning up against our house. Jeff and I lugged it across the street and Jeff lifted her in. She basically paddled in circles for the first 10 minutes. She finally figured it out after a lesson from her Dad and took off. Jeff had to swim after her in the freezing water to get her to turn around.

Next it was my turn. So I hopped on the kayak only to discover that my bum was too wide to fit in the junior kayak (yes I am going to remind you that it was a small kayak). I did not need that kind of wide load validation. So, only Natalie got to kayak. And this boat was old school, so we all got a bit of left over fiberglass in our fingers and arms. Fortunately, Grandpapa (Jeff's Dad) used to work with fiberglass and so Jeff knew that duct tape helped to pull it out.Thank goodness for that roll of Minion duct tape we brought.

Daddy's Girl

Well, we have discovered that Natalie is pretty much allergic to the entire country of New Zealand. She has sneezed, coughed, and scratched her watery eyes all across the North Island. We have consulted several pharmacists who have generously helped us with over the counter medication that has provided some relief. We were made to believe that the main culprit is likely the beautiful blooming natural "Christmas tree", similar to a bottle brush. Looking for some hope, we inquired about her chances of improvement on the South Island, which we will be heading to next week. "It will likely be worse down there.", we were told. Ah well, very common for Americans. She is a trooper about the whole thing. She has good days and bad days.

In reading up on allergies, I learned that pollen can get trapped in your hair. So Natalie consented to a haircut with Daddy as her stylist #DaddysGirl. He took the kitchen shears and lopped it off. It looks surprisingly good, given his lack of experience and the tools he had to work with. She's not too thrilled with the strictly enforced nightly baths, but manages to comply, especially when Daddy tells her it's bathtime!

New Zealand Christmas Tree

After

Before

Wellington Fountain

On Patio

The Windy City

We found out the hard way why they call Wellington - The Windy City. We drove to the downtown area for the first time, parking near the water. Natalie opened her door to get out of the car, and I thought she was going to get blown into the bay. I leaped out to help her, by now her hood was completely obscuring her face. My shirt flew up, but I managed to grab her arm. I then covered my belly again and we started to lean at a 45 degree angle to make our way down the sidewalk. Jeff observed the whole scene from the car and has not laughed that hard in 10 years. I almost suggested we head home as this wind was clearly extreme. As we made our way to town, we got a bit of relief, as we gained some protection. Jeff asked a local if this was unusual weather. "No, just a bit of a breeze." she replied. People were jogging, swimming, and getting on with their day when I thought we had been facing down a hurricane!

Movie Magic

Movie Magic is alive and well here in Wellington, New Zealand. We walked to the Weta Cave, which shows the artistic genius that created the special effects and creatures for Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Avatar, King Kong, and many others. All of this happened right here in the Miramar Peninsula, right next to Wellington. We saw Hobbit feet in the little museum and goofed around with the trolls out front. We watched a video about the 3000 people who work for Weta and make these ideas come to life. Natalie saw more violence and gore in that 15 minute video than the rest of her life combined. (Incidentally, a weta is an ugly cave bug that we saw in the glowworm cave.) Uncle David would have loved it!

At the Te Papa, the national museum, we saw a tamer movie magic exhibit, a traveling Dreamworks display. There were sculptures, drawings, and video interviews of movie makers. It was interesting for us all to see how Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, and the like were created. At the end there was an Animation Station. Here Natalie could draw on a touch screen to create her own animation. She drew a character, and then her Dad had to get in on the action also drawing e a character. They then drew a fight scene between the two. They were equally mesmerized.

Te Papa Museum. Toothless dragon above.

Animation Battle

Is it my turn yet?

Dog on a Paddleboard

We are staying on Karaka Bay and have a small beach across the street where Natalie enjoys exploring the tidepools and building sand castles. Jeff went swimming for literally 30 seconds only to find some kind of crazy cold Antarctic water out there. We were surprised to see a dog riding on someone's paddle board barking at every wave. We then saw 2 more dogs on paddle boards; they are experts over here. We capped off the day with the world's best fish and chips from a local cafe.

We are staying on the bottom floor of the yellow house on the right.

You know it's good when the bag is this greasy.